NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A digital payments solutions provider is calling for streamlined digital payment regulations across the Caribbean to foster cross-border trade and adoption, as it accelerates its international expansion with an imminent launch in Guyana and ongoing initiatives in Trinidad and Jamaica.
Nicholas Rees, Kanoo Pays’ chairman and co-founder, told Eyewitness News: “We’re really looking forward to bringing our wearable technology to market and seeing some of our international investments begin to pay off. We are literally on the cusp of launching live in Guyana. We’ve received our license to operate there, we have the staff in place, and merchants are being onboarded. We’re planning a ribbon-cutting ceremony or official announcement in Guyana within the next 30 days. That’s the biggest update from us, from a group perspective.”
He added: “We have a number of international initiatives underway. We previously launched live in Trinidad with our ticketing platform, and we did all the ticketing for the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad. Additionally, we have another event planned in Jamaica. So, we have operations in Guyana, Trinidad, and Jamaica, and we’re looking to propel and further expand these initiatives, with license applications pending to go full steam in those markets.”
Rees noted that the company has a trade mission scheduled for the first week of February to London—a business development trip organized by the UK Trade Partnership.
“Kanoo is one of five Caribbean companies invited to share our technical expertise and business process solutions with businesses in the UK. We’re very excited for this opportunity. We already have an investment in the UK market, specifically in the financial services and investment management sectors,” Rees shared.
He continued: “We’re looking to push our super app services, including our world-class food aid distribution platform, abroad. Right now, we have four Caribbean countries in talks with us about implementing this distribution platform, which is currently in use by the Department of Social Services. We’re excited to continue rolling that out. This initiative is especially close to our hearts because it directly impacts people’s daily lives. It allows individuals in need to redeem food assistance in a more dignified, efficient way—using a cool, fun way to pay and carry their value, spending it at more stores within their communities. This not only improves the user experience, reduces time, and creates efficiencies, but also strengthens the local community through increased spending.”
Regarding the Bahamas’ position in relation to regional digital payments uptake, Rees stated: “I think the Bahamas is pretty consistent, if not slightly ahead of the curve in terms of adoption. And that adoption is largely due to our more robust regulatory environment, particularly as it relates to facilitating payments in the Caribbean. I actually believe that Caribbean nations should collaborate to streamline some of their payment and financial services regulations. This would encourage more businesses to ‘island hop,’ so to speak, which would facilitate cross-border trade and expand our marketplaces beyond our borders. The Bahamas has certainly led the way in this area, but Barbados and Jamaica also have similarly robust regulatory regimes, albeit with different implementations and requirements. Navigating the regulatory landscape across multiple Caribbean countries can be complex, but there are clear opportunities for collaboration to streamline the process and benefit everyone.”
Rees also emphasized a potential game-changer: government payrolls paid in Sand Dollar. “If the government were to pay workers in the Family Islands using Sand Dollar, it could solve many challenges there. Workers would be able to link their Sand Dollar wallets directly to their bank accounts on the mainland and use these wallets to spend locally. This would encourage merchants to adopt digital payments and keep the currency circulating on the island, reducing the need for physical currency to flow between agencies and merchants. It could even make ATMs redundant. I see ATMs as old technology—everything they do can be facilitated through a functional on-island economy, where merchants handle digital transactions and connect those wallets to the banking infrastructure on the main island.”
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